- Chapter 19 -
Revelations
As night fell over New York, Karai led a squadron of Foot ninja across the rooftops. They had been traveling for several minutes before finally coming to a halt.
"The Turtles have been spotted in this neighborhood," she informed them. "So stay alert for any sign of them."
At that moment, they heard a commotion on the ground. They gathered around the edge and looked down. Karai's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the Hamato siblings and Kagome, fighting a legion of Krangdroids.
"They're... fighting robots?" she said in confusion.
"It's over, Turtles!" one Krangdroid declared. "You're all going to die tonight!"
"Bite my ass!" Raph snapped.
"Hey, Don!" Mikey shouted. "Batter up!"
He kicked one Krangdroid with enough force to dislodge the Utrom within. It flew out with a screech and Donnie whacked it in midair with his staff, knocking it silly.
"Whoa..." Karai remarked. "This town's more interesting than I thought."
Eventually, most of the Krangdroids had fallen, leaving a scant few standing.
"Leave. Now," Leo ordered the remainder. "Unless you want to be cut down like the other Utroms."
One of the Krangdroids scowled.
"We'll get you one of these days!" he declared, before they all dashed off.
"Yeah," Vee deadpanned. "And I'm a Chinese jet pilot."
Hisako slumped over, her hands on her knees as she tried to calm herself. Even from the roof, Karai could see the fear on her face.
"I hate those brain blobs..." Hisako cursed.
"It'd be so much easier if we had zombies to fall back on," Mikey remarked, getting looks from the others. "What? Everyone knows zombies eat brains."
That got a laugh out of everyone.
"Thanks Mikey," Hisako said smiling. "I needed that."
At that moment, Kagome looked up, seeing Karai watching them from the rooftops.
"What the-?" she remarked. "Karai?"
"Karai's here?!" Leo exclaimed, quickly breathing into his hand before sniffing. "How do I look?"
"Like a lovestruck sucker," Raph said flatly.
"Leo, remember one thing," Vee pointed out. "She's part of the Foot Clan. You know, Shredder's evil psycho ninja clan that wants us all dead?"
"I haven't forgotten," Leo replied.
"Maybe we'd believe you if you started thinking with the head on your shoulders and not the one between your legs," Raph retorted.
Vee glared up at Karai, getting back on topic.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"Oh, nothing," Karai answered. "But I can tell this city's gonna be fun."
With that, she departed, leaving the Hamato septet staring after her in confusion.
"Well..." Kagome said, breaking the silence, "that was weird."
"Can we go home now?" Hisako asked.
"Yeah," Leo answered. "Sounds like a plan."
At Shredder's lair, Stockman was hard at work for another project Shredder had commissioned: a special breathing apparatus and mechanical legs for the mutated Xever. Dogpound and Tokka stood off to the side as Stockman hooked Xever up to the legs.
"Well, look at that," Dogpound quipped. "The mermaid's growing legs."
"That's a good look for you," Tokka added. "Maybe now you'll finally be of use to us."
Xever scowled. "Bitch."
"Alright," Stockman declared, holding up a control panel. "Xever, let's test it out."
He pressed a few buttons and Xever took a few steps forward. At that very moment, the legs malfunctioned and Xever began running all over the place uncontrollably. He then began bouncing off the walls before face-planting. Dogpound and Tokka cracked up laughing at the sight.
"Now that was funny!" Tokka declared.
"Best thing to happen in weeks!" Dogpound agreed.
Xever glared at Stockman.
"Fix these legs, before I bite your goddamn head off!" He snapped.
Stockman opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a new voice.
"Baxter Stockman..."
Stockman gulped, turning to see Shredder standing right behind him.
"M-Master Shredder?" Stockman stammered. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to witness your failure," Shredder replied. "My patience is wearing thin."
At that moment, the door slid open and Karai entered, removing her mask.
"Father, I have news," she said before noticing Xever on the floor. "What the hell?"
"I'm trying my best!" Stockman protested. "The control mechanism is proving trickier than I-"
"I don't want to hear your excuses, Stockman," Shredder cut in. "If Xever isn't up and walking soon, you won't be either."
"I'd listen to him," Karai warned. "He means it."
Stockman gulped, then nodded nervously. Shredder then turned to Karai.
"Now, you said you have news?" he asked.
Karai nodded. "We're not the only enemies the turtles have. There are aliens. Utroms, according to Leonardo. I saw the Turtles fighting them. It seems they have history."
Shredder scoffed at that. "Are you forgetting your mission? You are to destroy them and find Splinter. Everything else is a distraction!"
"Distraction?!" Karai repeated in disbelief. "Father, don't you want to know what's going on? Robots and creatures? Splinter's disciples are turtles and a psychic. Your own men got turned into hideous freaks! Don't you think we should be finding out what's going on? I mean, there's more to life than your vendetta!"
"There is nothing more!" Shredder bellowed, cutting Karai off. "Have you forgotten what Hamato Yoshi did to me? To us? Every day that Splinter lives is a stain on our honor that we must wipe clean!"
Karai looked down before looking into Shredder's eyes.
"I have never forgotten," she replied, her voice cold. "Which is why I say we must explore every opportunity."
That got Shredder's attention. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
"The psychic was nearly incapacitated. These things may be her Achilles' heel."
Shredder thought it over for a minute. "The idea has merit."
"Let me look into them," Karai requested. "It could be worth our while."
After a minute, Shredder nodded. "Very well. See what you can find out."
Karai smirked, replacing her mask.
Down in the lair, Leo and Raph were having a very loud argument as the others sat off to the side, trying to stay out of it.
"The Foot were watching us the whole time!" Raph shouted.
"No, Karai was," Leo corrected.
"Karai is the Foot, you idiot!" Raph snapped.
"She's gonna be trouble, I know it," Hisako remarked.
"She was studying our moves! She had to be!" Raph yelled.
"You're wrong!" Leo insisted. "She can't be all bad!"
"Ugh!" Raph threw up his hands in exasperation. "I expected this kinda dumbassery from Mikey, but not you."
"Yeah..." Mikey agreed absentmindedly before realizing what he had just said. "Hey!"
As this was going on, Kagome was in the midst of something else. Pulling out a small cotton swab, she ran it around inside her mouth before putting it into a small test tube.
"Uh, what are you doing, Kagome?" Vee asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's part of a class project," Kagome replied. "April's doing it too."
"You're submitting your spit for a class project?" Mikey questioned. "Weird."
"Why would you willingly relinquish DNA?" Hisako asked.
"Everyone in our class is sending a DNA sample to this research group, the Worldwide Genome Project," Kagome explained. "Then they'll send us back a report telling us all about our ancestors."
Hisako looked aside in thought. "I wonder what mine would say… Probably just some sort of fatal error or a bunch of jumbled DNA they can't piece together."
"Huh?" Mikey asked. "What do you mean?"
Hisako sighed, leaning back on the couch. "I don't remember a time before the Technodrome. That and Ch'rell made it clear that I'm an artificial human grown in Krang's lab."
"It doesn't matter how you came into the world," Kagome assured, gently touching Hisako's shoulder. "You know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know," Hisako replied. "After all, look at my family."
Kagome smiled. "Exactly."
The next evening, Leo stood atop a roof waiting. His patience was rewarded when Karai appeared.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," he said simply, turning to her.
Karai smirked behind her mask.
"Nice to see I was expected," she commented.
She jumped down to his level.
"Now, let's get down to business," she declared. "What's the deal with those robots you were fighting the other night?"
"The deal is that they're dangerous," Leo replied. "Steer clear of them."
"What makes them dangerous?" Karai asked. "Is that why the freak is scared of them?"
Leo stiffened at that, glaring at her.
"Did you seriously just call Hisako a freak?" he demanded.
Karai shrugged. "If the shoe fits. She reads minds and makes things fly with her mind."
"And I'm a giant talking turtle," Leo pointed out, his voice hardening. "So doesn't that make me a freak too?"
"Different types of freaks," Karai answered. "You rely on your strength. She relies on cheap tricks. You're better than her."
Leo's expression soured, getting angrier by the second at Karai's insults.
"What's the matter? I'm telling the truth," Karai went on. "You and the other Turtles are true warriors. I've seen it. And if you ditched the freak, you'd-"
Leo snapped and jumped at Karai, pinning her to the wall.
"Shut. Up ," he hissed through clenched teeth.
Rather than be intimidated, Karai seemed amused.
"Did I strike a nerve?" she asked mockingly. "Big brother Leo, protecting his fragile little sister."
"Karai, I'm warning you-" he began.
"What're you gonna do, hero-boy? Kill me?" Karai interrupted. "You're too much of a goody three-toes."
Leo placed a hand on the hilt of his swords.
"Wanna bet?" he growled.
Karai seemed to hesitate, and Leo backed off.
"I didn't think so," he said. "Don't ever talk about my sister that way again."
"Touchy, touchy," Karai said sarcastically, rubbing her sore neck.
Leo sighed.
"Y'know, maybe Raph was right," he relented. "I shouldn't trust you."
"He's not wrong," Karai pointed out. "You know I'm gonna take you down eventually."
"We'll see about that," Leo retorted, glaring at her. "You wanna play games? I can handle it. But stay away from my siblings. If you come after them, I'll be gunning for you. Hear me?"
"Loud and clear," Karai replied flippantly, before walking away.
-X-
When Leo got back to the lair, he was still in a terrible mood. The others looked up at him.
"Leo, what happened?" Vee asked. "You look like you're about to kill somebody."
Leo didn't respond. Instead, he went over to Hisako, pulling her into a hug.
"Leo?" Hisako asked, returning the hug in utter confusion. "Are you okay?"
Leo sighed, pulling away.
"I had another run-in with Karai," he explained. "She- she had the gall to badmouth Hisako to my face."
"She what?!" the others screamed.
"She called Hisako a freak. "Leo continued. "Said the rest of us are better than her because we don't rely on 'cheap tricks'."
Vee scowled.
"Next time I see that bitch, I'm gonna rip her fucking voice box out," she declared.
Hisako was silent for several minutes, before dislodging herself from Leo's hug.
"She's right..." she said silently. "I do rely on cheap tricks."
"It doesn't make you any less than us!" Raph insisted.
"Yes, it does," Hisako replied. "Don't you see? I fall back on my powers at the slightest sign of trouble."
"Then do something about it," Leo suggested. "Sensei trained you just as well as the rest of us."
"And it all goes out the window when we fight outside the dojo," Hisako countered. "Karai's right."
"Karai's a bitch!" Vee replied.
"Doesn't make her any less right," Hisako said simply.
Before anyone could refute that, she turned and walked into her room, shutting the door.
Raph glared at Leo.
"So…" he snarled. "Still think Karai's not 'all bad'?"
"No," Leo replied, shaking his head. "She crossed a line tonight. What she said about Hisako is unforgivable."
"So what do we do now?" Donnie asked.
"I say next time we see Karai, we break her legs," Vee hissed in discontent.
"No, let's bust her jaw," Raph offered. "See her try to badmouth our sister without any freakin' teeth."
From her room, Hisako heard everything as she held Kagome's old stuffed turtle close to her heart. Despite everything, she managed a small smile at her sibling's words.
The next morning...
Kagome slammed her books into her locker, a scowl on her face. She had been informed of Karai's insults toward Hisako the previous night, and was in a terrible mood. All she could think of at the moment was making the Foot kunoichi eat her words.
"Hey, Kagome!" came the voice of Harmony.
Kagome looked up at her approach and Harmony slowed down.
"Whoa," Harmony remarked, noticing Kagome's sour expression. "Bad night?"
"You can say that," Kagome replied. "A friend of mine with self-esteem issues was brutally bullied last night. She didn't take it well. Hell, none of us did."
"Sorry to hear that," Harmony answered sincerely.
"Not your fault," Kagome said. "But when I see the bitch who said that stuff about her, I'm gonna put her through the wall."
"You know the bully?" Harmony questioned.
"Oh, yeah," Kagome answered. "And she's gonna learn what happens when she disses one of our own..."
"You seem close," Harmony pointed out.
"We grew up together," Kagome said. "We're basically family. And you don't mess with... family..."
She trailed off as she noticed April a short distance away, talking with a weird woman dressed in business attire with salt-and-pepper hair.
"Wait," she said. "Who the hell is that?"
Harmony looked where she was pointing.
"Not sure," she replied. "But I think that's the woman from the center doing the DNA tests. Ms. Campbell, I think her name is."
"She's from the Worldwide Genome Project?" Kagome asked, suspicious. "I thought they'd just send printouts of our family trees."
"Maybe she's here to drop them off?" Harmony suggested.
Kagome eyed the strange woman, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck begin to stand up. "Something smells fishy..."
"Sorry, Harmony," she said aloud. "I gotta run. Talk to you later."
"Oh, okay," Harmony replied. "Bye."
Kagome hurried over to April and the woman.
"Uh, excuse me ma'am," she began, getting their attention. "Who are you?"
"I'm Ms. Campbell from the Worldwide Genome Project," Ms. Campbell said, her tone sounding emotionless and robotic. "I'm here to provide April O'Neil's DNA test results."
Already, alarm bells were going off in Kagome's head.
"She's getting a printout like the rest of us," she informed Ms. Campbell. "I think it can wait till science class."
"We don't send printouts," Ms. Campbell replied. "Please, come with me, Miss O'Neil."
"Uh..." April began, confused, "where, exactly?"
"We're going to a place where I will present your DNA test results," Ms. Campbell said cryptically.
"Not gonna happen," Kagome said firmly. "Besides, history starts in five minutes and we can't be late."
The two girls turned to go, but suddenly, Ms. Campbell grabbed April's wrist. April gasped and tried to break free, but the woman's grip was like steel. The other kids in the hallway turned to notice and gasped in shock.
"Come with me," Ms. Campbell said again, her voice still emotionless.
Kagome grabbed Ms. Campbell's free arm, scowling.
"I suggest you back off," Kagome threatened. "Or we're gonna have a problem-"
Without breaking stride, Ms. Campbell broke Kagome's grip, released April, and tossed the young Hamato kunoichi into the trophy case behind her.
"Shit!" Kagome cursed as she pulled herself up. "I knew it!"
Ms. Campbell turned to Kagome and threw a punch which Kagome narrowly managed to dodge. The woman's fist shattered the glass behind her, much to everyone's surprise.
"Everybody run!" Kagome screamed as she grabbed April's hand. "That woman's lost her freaking mind! She'll kill us all!"
That broke the other students' paralysis, and they all ran off screaming. Kagome and April darted down another hall as Ms. Campbell slowly began walking after them. Managing to lose her around the corner, the two girls ducked into the janitor's closet.
"What do we do now?!" April demanded. "We can't call Leo and the others! All these people here... they'll be exposed!"
"There's one person who can help us," Kagome said, pulling her T-Phone out. "I just hope she answers the phone."
Hisako hadn't left her room since last night, and was just sitting in the corner with the turtle. Mikey had brought her some pizza, but it remained untouched on her nightstand. As she sat there, a soft knock sounded on her door.
"Hisako?" Splinter's voice called out from the other side of the door. "May I come in?"
"Sure..." Hisako replied after a minute.
Splinter entered the room and took a seat on the ground next to her.
"Your sister told me what happened last night," he said gently. "What this... Karai said about you."
Hisako curled up a bit tighter, hugging the turtle close to her chest.
"She's right. I was just kidding myself. 'I want to be strong'." She snorted curtly. "Like something like me could ever be more than what they made me."
Splinter took her chin in his hand, lifting her head so she looked him in the eye.
"You're much stronger than you think you are, my child," he assured.
"Because of my powers?" Hisako questioned. "My powers are all I am, and it sucks."
"No." Splinter shook his head. "It wasn't due to your powers that you survived those ten years. You did that on your own. You lived. You fought."
Hisako raised an eyebrow.
"Fought?" she repeated. "What are you talking about?"
"You experienced a decade of horrific torment," Splinter explained. "Most other people would have given in long ago. But you didn't. You survived. You endured."
"I... never thought about it that way," Hisako admitted.
"That is why Kasumi and I gave you your name," Splinter reminded her. "Do you remember what it means?"
Hisako nodded.
"Enduring Child..." she recited.
"All your life, you have endured countless hardships," Splinter said. "I know it has been hard, but in the end, it has made you stronger. You just need to remember this."
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You are who you choose to be," he told her. "Not what others say you are."
Hisako looked down at herself, thinking Splinter's words over.
"And you don't have to rely on your abilities," Splinter added. "You are a psychic and a kunoichi."
Hisako looked at her hands.
"You're right..." she said, before looking up at her father with a smile. "Thank you, Sensei. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."
They embraced, Splinter gently petting her head.
"I'm glad," he said. "And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."
With that, Splinter took his leave. At that very minute, Hisako's T-Phone went off. She pulled it out of her pocket, noticing it was Kagome.
"Kagome?" she answered. "Aren't you in school?"
" Hisako, listen to me, " Kagome said, her tone somewhat frantic. " Some new Krangdroid is attacking the school. It's after me and April ."
"What?!" Hisako screamed, sitting up. "They're attacking in broad daylight?!"
"There are too many people around. If the Turtles show up, they'll be exposed. You're the only one who can help us."
Hisako stood up. "I'm on my way."
She hung up, shoving her phone in her pocket before taking off out of the room.
Ms. Campbell roamed the halls, searching for her quarry. She looked around a corner, only for Kagome to slam a bucket over her head. She backed away, keeping April behind her. Something began glowing beneath the bucket, and it exploded, revealing Campbell's eyes were now glowing bright red. She began stalking toward Kagome and April, who backed up in terror.
"Great, she has heat vision," Kagome said flatly. "The fun just keeps on leaving."
"Then I guess I got here just in time."
Campbell's head turned a hundred and eighty degrees to see Hisako standing there, ready to fight.
"P-P-Project Oracle..." she stammered, before turning the rest of her body to face her.
"It's Hisako, you wad of ABC gum!" Hisako snapped.
Campbell's elbows suddenly popped open, revealing gun barrels which suddenly fired missiles. Reacting quickly, Hisako tossed two shuriken at the missiles, detonating them in mid-air.
"Kagome, get April out of here!" Hisako ordered. "I got this!"
Kagome quickly ushered April into an empty classroom, and Hisako charged forward, slashing with her tessen. She caught Campbell across the gut and tore through the fabric of her shirt, revealing a robotic abdomen rather than an Utrom cockpit.
"Okay..." Hisako said simply. "That's a first."
Campbell jumped into the air, coming down with both feet. Hisako darted back a split second before she would have been crushed, Campbell shattering the floor beneath her on impact.
"Okay, think, Hisako," Hisako muttered to herself. "It's clearly not a krangdroid. It's got to be a robot of some kind. Just take it down."
Campbell fired more missiles at Hisako, who managed to dodge before charging in and slashing her arms and face off with multiple swipes of her tessen. Kagome emerged from the classroom at that moment, dashing over to the water fountain as Campbell sparked and spasmed.
"Anyone thirsty?" she quipped before turning on the fountain.
A jet of water sprayed onto Campbell's faceless head, short-circuiting her, and the robot collapsed.
"Nice one, Kagome," Hisako said, giving a thumbs up.
April emerged from the classroom as well, kicking the fallen Campbell directly in the head.
"And stay down!" she shouted.
Campbell spasmed slightly and Hisako plunged her tessen into her head and chest.
"Now she's down," she remarked.
April sighed, smiling gratefully at Hisako.
"You saved our butts, Hisako," she said. "If you hadn't shown up when you did..."
"Hey, these fuckers have screwed up enough lives," Hisako replied. "Though I wish I knew why they seem so fixated on you."
"We'll explain everything at the lair," Kagome said simply, surveying the carnage. "I'd say school's out early today."
The three girls hurried to the lair, and quickly informed the Turtles of the situation.
"That robot said she was from the Worldwide Genome Project," April remarked.
"But how'd Krang know you sent your DNA spit to the Worldwide thingamajig?" Mikey asked.
Hisako frowned. "I don't think it ever really existed. My guess, it was just a front."
"Oh God..." Kagome gasped. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"That Krang's using the Worldwide Genome Project as a front," Hisako nodded. "They want April for some reason. Wish I knew why."
"Well, I say that we go check the place out, and find out why he's so obsessed with April," Donnie declared.
"I couldn't agree more," Leo said.
"I'm going too," April declared.
Leo shook his head.
"No, it's too dangerous," he informed her.
"I have to agree with Leo on this," Hisako added. "They want you, and if you come along, we might as well be handing you over to them on a silver platter."
April scowled, putting her foot down.
"They stole my dad! They attacked me in broad daylight at school!" she shouted. "All I've ever been since this started is a pathetic damsel who can't stand up for herself, who has to wait for ninjas to bail her out! And I'm sick of it!"
April's words struck a chord with Hisako, recalling her helplessness in the past, and her earlier despair.
"No way in-" Leo began.
"Alright," Hisako interrupted. "You can come."
That shocked everyone else in the room, including April herself.
"Uhh..." Raph let out. "What?"
"That look in her eyes seem familiar?" Hisako asked, pointing at April. "She's gonna come. More than that, she needs to come."
They all exchanged looks.
"Well..." Vee declared. "I guess that settles it."
Donnie sighed, turning to April.
"Just... promise me you'll be careful, okay?" he begged.
"I promise," April assured.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Mikey exclaimed. "Let's go already!"
-X-
Once they got topside, it wasn't too hard for the group to find the Worldwide Genome Project building. Just as they climbed onto the rooftop, Hisako sensed something, turning to the side.
"What's up?" Mikey asked, turning to her.
Hisako said nothing, but drew her tessen and tossed it a distance away. It zipped behind an air conditioning unit on the roof and hit something. Karai spilled out with a yelp of pain, quickly standing up as Hisako's tessen returned to her hand.
"Well," Karai said casually as she began dusting herself off, "Fancy meeting you here.
"Oh, isn't there someone else you can annoy?" Raph demanded. "Friends? Family? Deadly scorpions?"
"I'm not after you, I'm on a recon mission," Karai replied. "Learning more about these 'Utroms' I witnessed the other night."
"I'm surprised Shredder actually cares for something other than his dumbass vendetta," Kagome remarked.
"He's exploring all his options," Karai said with a shrug. "Those things incapacitate the freak. That's a weakness he'd be a fool not to exploit."
Hearing her continuing insults toward Hisako, the Hamato Clan all glared at her.
"The next time you call Hisako a freak," Raph warned, "by the time we're done with you, there won't be enough left to fill a pizza tray."
"Wow, you really are touchy," Karai retorted flippantly. "Don't like it when people insult your pathetic excuse for a-"
Hisako's tessens zipped past her head, missing her face by millimeters. Hisako recalled them, scowling at Karai.
"I'm stronger than you give me credit for, Karai," Hisako warned, calm but cold. "So don't push unless you want to find out just how strong I really am."
"Complete 180 from before," Vee complimented. "I like it."
After a minute of shock, Karai found her thunder again.
"Whatever," she scoffed. "What's the point of living if you don't take a few risks?"
"Because taking certain risks will get you killed," Donnie answered.
"Guys," April cut in, "I know you all have beef with her, but we've bigger fish to fry."
"Right," Leo snapped to attention, turning back to Karai for a second. "If you knew why they have that effect on Hisako, maybe you wouldn't be so quick to mock her."
With that, he turned his back on her, prying open a vent for them to get in. The group entered the building, followed closely by Karai.
"Hey, don't mind me," Karai said as they all glared at her. "Just doing my own thing."
"Leo..." Mikey whispered, "your ex is following us."
"I was on my way in here anyway," Karai retorted. "Now that that's done..."
She went off in some other direction. Raph sighed, annoyed.
"Is it wrong that some part of me actually hopes that Krang finds her and rips her a new one?" he asked.
"Yes," Hisako replied bluntly. "Wouldn't wish that on anyone. Not even her."
"She's out of our hair for now guys," April pointed out. "Let's just find out what Krang's up to."
They continued forward, the vent eventually leading out over a large room. They looked down, seeing multiple large vats containing DNA, marked with different animal pictures: octopi, cats, snakes, etc.
"Looks like they're collecting DNA from every plant and animal species on Earth," Donnie remarked.
"But for what?" Kagome asked.
"Mutation experiments," Hisako explained. "Remember what Donnie said: the mutagen doesn't work the way it should here."
"So they're trying to perfect it," Donnie added.
"And it looks like they got some people to perfect it," Leo said, pointing.
They followed his finger to see two people working in the corner. There was an older human man with a gray beard, and...
"Uh…" April let out, "is that a monkey?"
Hisako closed her eyes, listening to the monkey's thoughts.
"His name is Dr. Tyler Rockwell," she reported. "And he used to be human."
Raph whistled in awe. "The Utroms must be getting close to perfecting their mutagen if they can make a mutant that looks exactly like a monkey."
"That's the thing, they didn't make him. He was created by..." Hisako frowned. "Huh, that's weird. There's a gap in his memory."
"I've heard of Dr. Rockwell," Kagome remarked. "He's a renowned neurochemist. But who's the other guy?"
Hisako listened in on the old man's thoughts. "His name's Harold Lillja."
" The Harold Lillja?!" Donnie exclaimed. "He's one of the top dogs of the scientific community!"
"Tone it down, Donnie," Leo hissed. "You wanna give us away?"
Donnie coughed. "Right. Sorry."
"We need to shut this place down," Vee said. "And get those two the hell outta here."
-X-
Elsewhere, Karai slipped out of the vent and took in her surroundings. She was in a storage room, filled with a mass amount of file cabinets and computers.
"Bingo," Karai declared with a smirk.
She slid over to the computer, inserting a flash drive into it to download the data. While all that was going on, she flipped through the file cabinets. One in particular caught her eye.
"Project Oracle," she read, "Hmmm..."
Curiosity taking over, she took the file and opened it. Her eyes soon went wide at the photos and descriptions within, depicting a girl with psychic powers being subjected to brutal experiments for ten years straight. She looked at the girl's face and realized that the girl was Hisako.
"Jesus Christ..." Karai gasped, dropping the file in shock. "The fuck are these things?"
She looked down at her hand, shame crossing her features as Leo's words from earlier echoed in her mind.
"If you knew why they have that effect on Hisako, maybe you wouldn't be so quick to mock her."
"Sick bastards..." Karai muttered, slowly picking up the file and sliding it into her belt.
-X-
"What's the plan, Leo?" Vee asked.
Before Leo could say anything, a shuriken hit a Krangdroid in the face, knocking it down. Everyone turned in shock as Karai emerged from a hallway, her eyes blazing with anger.
"You sick FUCKS!" she screamed, drawing her tanto and jumping into the fray.
"What the hell?!" Raph declared.
"What crawled into her shell?" Mikey asked.
"My file..." Hisako said, hearing Karai's enraged thoughts. "She found my file."
Everyone turned to her.
"Then... she knows what Krang did to you," Kagome remarked.
"From the looks of it, it didn't sit right with her," Donnie said, looking down.
"You sadistic fucking assholes!" Karai screamed, hacking and slashing in a frenzy.
Leo watched on, mesmerized by her fighting, as well as the righteous fury in her eyes.
"There is some good in her after all," he gasped.
"She's giving us an opening," Donnie pointed out. "Let's get the doctors out of here while we still can!"
"Right," Leo snapped to attention. "Move out!"
They burst out of the vent, landing down in the room. They dashed over to Harold and Rockwell; the two were hiding behind their work desks, watching the fight with worried fascination.
"Dr. Lillja! Dr. Rockwell!" Leo shouted, getting their attention. "We're here to save you!"
"My word!" Rockwell exclaimed. "Turtle mutations!"
"It's the ones that Krang and Ch'rell have mentioned in the past," Harold remarked. "They have to be."
"That's us," Raph replied. "Now let's get the hell outta here!"
"Wait!" April cut in. "Is there a Kirby O'Neil here?"
"I'm sorry, Miss," Dr. Rockwell lamented. "But no one by that name was brought to this facility."
"Damn it..." April cursed, looking down.
"We'll find him, April," Donnie assured. "I promise."
At that moment, they were distracted by a scream of pain. A Krangdroid had grabbed Karai by the throat, proceeding to toss her across the room. She slammed into a console with enough force to smash it. It began sparking before the DNA capsules began to empty into a large vat of mutagen in the middle of the room.
"No!" Harold screamed. "The mutagen!"
After a few minutes, the mutagen vat drained, revealing a very bizarre octopus-like creature. It had pink skin, a blue isopod shell on its back, big bug eyes, yellow, green and orange piscine fins that slightly resemble a cobra hood, and orange pointed cat ears.
"It's... kinda cute," Vee remarked.
At that moment, the creature's neck extended like a snake, revealing a large mouth filled with teeth and fangs, and its eyes extended on stalks, revealing them to be jellyfish in the shape of eyes. It let out a massive roar.
"Ohhh, shit," Raph said aloud.
"How the heck am I gonna name this?" Mikey demanded.
" That's your problem?!" everyone else asked incredulously.
"Octo-Punk?" Mikey wondered to himself. "Octo-eyeball-jelly-bug?"
He sighed.
"Ugh, forget it," he muttered. "Let's just call him Justin."
April backed away in fear of Justin, instinctively grabbing Hisako's hand. The second their hands touched, something happened. They both snapped up, straightening their posture. Hisako began glowing green like she usually did, her eyes solid green, and April glowed yellow, her eyes doing the same. Everyone around them watched on in shock.
"What the?!" Vee shouted.
Hisako and April remained like that for a second, then immediately released one another, the glow dying out as they looked at each other in shock.
"What the hell was that?!" both girls exclaimed in unison.
"Incredible..." said one Utrom. "She has awakened."
Before they could ponder what that meant, Justin let out another roar, swiping at the Hamato Clan with his tentacles. His eyes began sparking and he shot electrical beams out of them that they narrowly managed to dodge.
"Electric eyes?!" Vee screamed. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"
"Could this night get any weirder?!" Raph demanded.
Karai jumped into the air, her foot connecting with the side of Justin's head. It snapped her up in a tentacle, squeezing her, and Karai let out a scream of agony.
"Karai!" Leo screamed.
Seeing red, Leo charged at Justin, who fired another electrical blast at him. Without breaking stride, Leo deflected the blast with his katanas, sending it back to its source. Justin howled in agony as the electricity spider-webbed through his body and he collapsed, dropping Karai.
Karai hit the ground rolling, pulling herself up on her hands and knees while coughing slightly.
"Fuck..." she cursed. "That hurt..."
Leo ran over, helping her up.
"C'mon!" Donnie shouted. "Let's make like Lex Luthor's hairline and recede!"
"Dude, that was ten different times of lame," Vee deadpanned.
Nonetheless, they all ran out of the building, Harold and Rockwell in tow. As soon as they got outside, April clutched her head, grimacing in pain.
"God, what's happening to me?!" she shouted. "All these voices in my head... am I losing my mind?!"
"No way..." Mikey said in surprise. "April's psychic too?"
"I don't get it either," Hisako remarked. "It was as if my range was suddenly doubled. Even in full fury, I've... I've never had that much power."
"Well, have fun working it out," Karai said flippantly as she began walking off, turning her head slightly for a minute. "Thanks for the save, Leo. See you around."
And with that, she was gone. Leo watched her go, a small smirk on his face.
"We need to get April back to the lair," Donnie insisted.
"And I need to get back to my workshop," Harold added. "Rockwell, if you have nowhere else to go, you're more than welcome to join me."
"I'll take what I can get," Rockwell replied gratefully. " I still have many questions, and perhaps with your help, I can find the answers."
-X-
At the lair, April was pacing around, wringing her hands.
"This doesn't make any sense!" she declared.
"You're telling me," Hisako remarked. "You still hearing voices?"
"Yeah, it's weird," April remarked.
At that moment, Hisako recalled something Ch'rell once said, during her ten years of hell.
"She'll make a fine spare, should the final project fail to awaken."
"Original project..." Hisako stared at April, her eyes widening in realization. "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"
"What?" Leo demanded. "What?!"
"You're the final project," Hisako said to April before turning to the others. "April's powers come from me because Krang made her the perfect project! That's why Krang wants you so badly!"
She slumped into a chair, her eyes wide at the realization as she held her forehead in shock. April was in shock and sat down herself.
"This... this can't be real," she whispered.
"I-I..." Donnie stammered, before sighing. "I've got nothing."
Uptown, Karai knelt before Shredder, presenting him with the remnants of a Krangdroid and the flash drive containing the stolen Utrom data.
"That robot could work wonders for Stockman's work on Xever's legs," she said. "And this flash drive contains all the info I was able to get from the Utroms' computer. Then there's this."
She pulled the Project Oracle file off of her belt and handed it to Shredder.
"It contains full info on the... psychic," she explained, managing to stop herself from saying 'freak.'
"Project Oracle..." Shredder muttered, reading the label on the file.
He began flipping through it, gazing over the contents. As he did so, he began to smirk under his mask.
"These Utroms are quite imaginative," he mused. "Perhaps I was hasty in brushing them off. Having them as allies could be beneficial to our cause."
Karai gasped, the shock and disgust visible on her face.
"Father, you can't be serious!" she exclaimed. "They're insane, sadistic maniacs!"
Shredder snapped the folder shut, glaring at Karai.
"Do not question my decisions, daughter," he warned.
Karai flinched, then bowed her head, still looking sickened.
"Y-yes, Father," she gave in. "But how are you sure we can even convince them to ally with us?"
"Everyone, even creatures like these, has something they want," Shredder replied. "We find that, and they'll be ours."
Karai bowed, keeping a straight face, but on the inside, the thought of working with the Utroms made her sick.
"As you command, Father."
Author's Note:
Yep. That's what Krang wants April for. Those who watched the 2012 series shouldn't be too surprised.
The bulk of this episode was adapted from the 2012 episode "The Alien Agenda." Some aspects, like Karai's characterization, were changed.
Harold Lillja is from the IDW comics, and Dr. Rockwell is from the 2012 show, for those not in the know.
Please R&R. Until next time!